Upper House poll ruled in 'state of unconstitutionality'

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Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that vote value disparity in last year's Upper House election was in a "state of unconstitutionality." This is the first such ruling by the court…

Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that vote value disparity in last year's Upper House election was in a "state of unconstitutionality." This is the first such ruling by the court on disparity of around 3 times in an Upper House poll.

The July election saw a disparity of up to 3.13 times in the number of voters per lawmaker between the least and most populous constituencies. Two groups of lawyers had filed lawsuits across the country, demanding that the election be nullified. They argued that the disparity violated the Constitution.

The court's Grand Bench issued the ruling on Wednesday. Chief Justice Imasaki Yukihiko said efforts in the Diet to correct the disparity have been stalled. He also said the imbalance reached a level that can no longer be overlooked.

Sixteen rulings on the election handed down by high courts and high court branches across the country were divided. Eleven of them said the election was "in a state of unconstitutionality" and five said it was "constitutional."

Since the 2016 Upper House election, when disparity in the weight of votes was reduced to around 3 times through mergers of constituencies, the Supreme Court ruled three consecutive times that the disparity in Upper House elections was constitutional.

This is the first time since the 2013 election, which had a vote value disparity of up to 4.77 times, that an Upper House election was determined to be in a "state of unconstitutionality."

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